Robert McKinley, Senior Analyst/Editor
Robert McKinley is an analyst of the payments industry on a daily basis for 32 years covering payment cards and payment systems from both the business side and the consumer side. McKinley is the retired founder and chief executive of RAM Research, CardWeb and CardTrak. In his prior position, McKinley has participated in more than 10,000 documented news media interviews, testified as an expert witness in two separate $billion+ U.S. anti-trust trials, testified before the U.S. Congress, assisted the GAO with paymentsIMG_2006 (1).jpeg reports, chaired numerous business conferences and provided C-Suite opinion to a multitude of Fortune 500 companies. In retirement, he has continued developing and funding digital media assets as well as contributing payments related analysis/content to a broad list of online publishers, including CardFlash, CardTrak and CardData. McKinley is also a national certified mentor with the non-profit SCORE organization with a focus on assisting Fintech startups. www.robert-mckinley.com

Recent tracking shows the national bank card default rate of 3.53% in May set a 48-month high. When comparing the bank card default rate among the four census divisions, the default rate in the South is considerably higher than the other three census divisions. The East South Central Census Region, – comprised of Kentucky, Tennessee,…

Nine-in-ten U.S. consumers say they have made at least one online purchase in the past 12 months, and more than seven-in-ten have made three or more online purchases in the same time frame. Nearly half of online shoppers say they have increased the frequency of their online purchases in the last year. At the same…

Retailers stand to lose $71 billion globally from fraudulent CNP (Card-Not-Present) transactions over the next five years. Factors, such as the USA’s shift to EMV cards, delays in 3DS 2.0 (3D-Secure) and click-and-collect fraud were key drivers behind the rise. New data from Juniper Research has found many merchants still perceive combatting fraud as too…

African mobile network operator MTN Benin and Youtap have partnered to launch a contactless mobile payment service for MTN Benin Mobile Money users. Unveiled in Cotonou, Benin, the new MoMoPay enables MTN Benin Mobile Money customers to ‘tap and pay’ for goods and services instantly and securely with their mobile devices. The service relies on…

Visa and Mastercard international gross (open) payment card accounts (GAC) for the first quarter (1Q/17) grew an adjusted 7.5% year-on-year (YOY). International credit GAC was up 14.5% YOY and international debit GAC soared 33.2% in 1Q/17, both unadjusted, according to CardData. Visa began including Visa Europe in its operational performance reports as of 3Q/16. Visa…

Profits for the top four networks were all over the map year-on-year (YOY) in the first quarter (1Q/17). The network peer group net income declined 29.9% YOY for 1Q/17, driven by huge declines posted by Visa and American Express, according to CardData. Since 1Q/16 Visa folded in the Visa Europe portfolio and began reporting operational…

While some companies are deveoling face and voice biometrics for ATMs and banking, governments will be the largest end-users of face & voice biometrics in the world, while revenues from military & defense and law enforcement agencies will register speedy growth at 19.6% CAGR through 2025. According to forecasts by Persistence Market Research, the government…

Australian credit card outstandings edged up by 0.4% year-on-year (YOY) in April. Credit card credit limits increased 0.7% YOY and the number of credit card accounts rose 1.2% YOY in April, according to CardData. The average balance per account in April declined 0.8% YOY to AU$3104, compared to AU$3146 for March, and AU$3130 for April…

Mastercard has inked a major deal with Britian’s TSB to issue Mastercard debit cards to all the Bank’s current account customers in 2018 as part of a 7 year deal. TSB will continue to issue Mastercard credit cards over the same term. The agreement means that together the two organizations will partner to offer additional…

U.S. Gross Dollar Volume (GDV) among the big six U.S. bank card issuers, rose an estimated 10.0% year-on-year (YOY) in the first quarter (1Q/17). The growth was driven by Citibank offset somewhat by an American Express decline, according to CardData. Citibank grew four-fold over the second highest gainer in the peer group, Chase. Chase, Bank of…

U.S. Cash Dollar Volume (CDV) for Visa and Mastercard (credit + debit) in the first quarter (1Q/17) grew at an annual rate (YOY) of 1.1%. The growth was driven by Visa debit cards, according to CardData. Visa and Mastercard reported $187 billion in 1Q/17 CDV for payment cards, compared to $186 billion in the prior…

When it comes to mobile apps Capital One ranked highest in the retail bank category while Discover ranked highest in overall satisfaction in the credit card category. According to the “J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Banking App and U.S. Credit Card App Satisfaction Studies”: • Ease of use/navigation is the most heavily weighted driver of satisfaction among…